Earth Bound
by Frosted Sugar Cookie
Summary: Toph, earth bending teacher to the Avatar, falls off of Appa during an escape from a fire navy ship and wakes up in a place called the 'Grand Line'. She struggles to make it by in the strange world and is found by a certain Fleet-Admiral.
1. Chapter 1

**~Hello everyone! I am not new to the fanfiction world at all, but I am new to the writing aspect of it. This is my first story and I would appreciate some constructive criticism to help me improve my writing style.~**

 **Thanks for choosing to read this and have fun!**

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The air around the group of kids on the back of Appa was alive with the fire that was being thrown at them from the deck of the fire navy ship they had been trying to out fly for quite a while now. "How come we always get in these kinds of situations?!" Sokka complained loudly over the wind as he struggled to keep from falling out of saddle as Aang had to swerve to avoid a particularly close blast of fire. It hadn't been long since their encounter with Azula and her insane little friends and they had tried to stay out of sight, but there hadn't been that many clouds to use as cover.

"Your whining is not helping, Sokka!" Katara snapped at her brother as she used water from the water skin on her hip to put out a small flame that had gotten onto one of the bedrolls. She grabbed onto the side of the saddle as Appa dropped out of the air and to the ocean below them before leveling back out and gaining altitude, glancing over to check on the youngest of their little group. Toph seemed fine to her other than looking like she was going to pass out or throw up at any second.

Toph currently was trying to focus on blocking everything out and keeping her lunch down, not noticing her death grip on the saddle had loosened up until Appa dropped once again. "TOPH!" Katara cried out with wide eyes as she rushed to grab the younger girl, the fabric of Toph's shirt bushing against the tips of her fingers as she fell over the side. Toph desperately tried to find a hold in Appa's fur just as he swerved, leaving her to fall rapidly down to the water. "Toph fell out of the saddle!" Katara yelled to Aang as she secured her hold back onto the side.

Aang's eyes widened and he turned Appa around and tried to make it back to where Toph was falling. They had almost reached where she was still falling, but Aang had to pull back on the reigns as fire was blasted right in front of them, blocking the earthbender from sight. Once the fire had dissipated, the group were terrified when they couldn't see their friend.

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Toph couldn't help but scream as she fell, keeping her eyes shut tightly. She couldn't hear anything over the wind rushing past her and the initial break of the water as she finally stopped falling. Her breath was knocked out of her with the impact and she thrashed around, feeling something pull her deeper and deeper into the water until she had blacked out from the lack of oxygen.

The young girl hadn't expected to wake up after an experience like that, but her eyes snapped open and she violently cough up the water in her lungs before greedily taking some much needed air into her lungs. After what seemed like an eternity Toph sat up, feeling grass brush against her skin and the ground beneath her which made her pause in thought _'Wasn't I just in water?'_. She stood up shakily and was wondering if all of it had just been some sort of messed up dream when a breeze blew over her, causing a shiver to run through her body as she was now aware of her soaking wet clothes.

She refused to think of anything else as exhaustion took over her mind, making his thoughts jumble together. She stomped her feet on the ground and made a tent with solid slabs of earth. She closed it off the the outside world and settled down onto the ground, closing her eyes once again and letting sleep overtake her. Toph didn't once think about how strange it was that she couldn't feel or hear any of her friends nearby.

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(I hope you all enjoined the first chapter!)


	2. Chapter 2

**~School has started back so updates will be slow, but I'll try not to take too long between each of them.~**

 **Have fun!**

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 _-Previously-_

 _She refused to think of anything else as exhaustion took over her mind, making his thoughts jumble together. She stomped her feet on the ground and made a tent with solid slabs of earth. She closed it off the the outside world and settled down onto the ground, closing her eyes once again and letting sleep overtake her. Toph didn't once think about how strange it was that she couldn't feel or hear any of her friends nearby._

-Now-

The sounds of muffled yelling outside of the make-shift tent made the earthbender stir from her sleep, stretching out her legs and arms as she sat up. A yawn tore its way from her mouth as she stood up and scratched at her head. Toph was about to lower her tent at the noise and the movement coming from her friends that told her they were already awake when she noticed how none of the vibrations felt familiar.

They felt too big. Like adults.

The memories of falling into the water rushed into her mind when she realized her friends were no where near her, making her gasp and stumble slightly. Toph regained her balanced and lowered the slabs of earth in a split minute decision, hearing the fighting quiet down and feeling the movement stop.

That silence was soon broken as a few men ran towards her, yelling.

Toph didn't move a muscle as they grew closer and closer, until she lifted her foot up and slammed it back down. The ground erupted upwards beneath them into pillars of stone, throwing them onto the group of people that they had separated from. Hearing the fighting starting back up, she snapped into her stance and raised her fists at the others who had the guts to go towards her after what they had just witnessed happen with their buddies.

She moved closer to the rock pillars and kicked one at the men, keeping a straight face as she divided the stone into pieces in mid air with the movement of her fingers and hit her targets dead on.

 _'Bring it on, suckers'_ she smirked internally.

The earthbender repeated this process with the others of the same side that had decided she was a bigger threat than whoever the other side was. She soon ran out of pillars to kick and slammed her foot down once again, raising multiple rocks into the air and shooting them at whoever got the closest.

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After a while, the men of side that had been attacking had been reduced to unconscious piles with some groaning coming from them. She felt the vibrations of what she had dubbed the 'good guys', moving behind her and turned around to face them as three of the people moved forward. She turned her head up towards where the vibrations ended on the person in the middle.

"Who the heck are you?" Toph asked and tilted her head to the side in confusion, her toes digging into the ground just in case she had to fight her way out of wherever she was. She tensed up slightly when she felt the one in the middle move closer and crouch down to her height, speaking to her. "My name is Fleet Admiral Sengoku" the man answered "My men informed me of an unknown ally helping them deal with some pirates and I had to come see for myself".

The Fleet Admiral had been eating at one of the bars closest to where his ship had been docked when one of the men from his ship ran inside and informed him of what was transpiring on the other side of the small island. He didn't know what to think when he was also told of the girl who was supposedly controlling the very earth they walked on and using it as a weapon to aid his men in the fight.

He had only seen the last moments of the fight and he had been surprised to see the girl was even younger then he had originally thought, but she was holding her own against the pirates, fighting like a well trained and high ranking marine. He was suddenly hit with the memories of a good marine who had died during an undercover mission and who he had raised as a son, Donquixote Rosinante.

The girl couldn't have been much older than Rosinante had been when Sengoku found him and just thinking about it made his heart ache.

Sengoku focused back onto the young girl in front of him. "Do you live in the village?" he asked and watched as she shook her head and said "No". He gave a small smile to her and asked his next question before he could chicken out "Would you like to come with me back to Marine Ford?"

To say Toph was surprised would be an understatement.

She didn't know where she was, but this 'Marine Ford' sounded important and she could possibly learn some valuable information if she went with the man. Plus, he seemed kind of like that old man she had met and had tea with. "Alright. I'll go, but I got one question" she crossed her arms over her chest "What's a 'Marine Ford?"


	3. Chapter 3

_-Previously-_

 _"Alright. I'll go, but I got one question" she crossed her arms over her chest "What's a 'Marine Ford?"_

-Now-

Toph had been apprehensive at the thought of having to get on a ship since she figured she wouldn't able to see very well. ' _Can't be worse than sand_ ' Toph grimaced slightly as her toes dug into the loose material of the beach as the old man's crew was finishing loading up the ship with what they would need for the trip. She could feel the old man standing beside of her with his hands folded behind his back. It was a fuzzy picture, but at least she could somewhat feel where everything was.

The old man had told her that he was a marine and sounded shocked when he answered her many questions about what 'Marine Ford' was, where she was, etc. She had asked if she was in the Earth Kingdom and the man replied that he didn't know what that was. That response had made Toph's heart stop. She had almost passed out, but had managed to calm herself.

Needless to say, she didn't bring that topic up again after answering Sengoku's questions about where she was from.

"Alright, Toph" Sengoku spoke, drawing her out of her thoughts. "The crew is ready to leave the island" he told her with a smile on his face as he led her towards the dock. She walked beside the man as he led the way onto the dock and to the ship's ramp. When Toph stepped onto the wood of the dock, she was amazed to feel that she could feel the vibrations of everything on the wood. It was an even better picture than when she was on the sand.

Not as good as being on solid ground, though.

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Toph leaned against the railing of the ship, her arms resting on the railing with her head laying on them. Her eyes were closed as she mapped out the entirety of the large ship by feeling the waves hitting the ship's sides and the men moving around on the many levels. She let out a quiet sigh as she released her focus and just relished the gentle breeze that moved her bangs out of her face.

The smell of the sea was the only thing that comforted her besides the fact that she could 'see' on wood. She took in a deep breath and tried to imagine that she was back on Appa with Twinkle-toes, Snoozles, and Sugar Queen. It worked to relax her for a while before she was struck with a sickening feeling deep down in her stomach. ' _What if I can't find my way back?_ ' she bit down on her bottom lip to keep the tears from escaping from her eyes.

She moved so that she was sitting down on the deck and let her forehead rest against one of the poles, her eyes shut as she tried to come up with some ideas on what she was doing there. ' _Maybe the spirits had something to do with it_ ' she suggested to herself.

' _I wonder if Twinkle-toes can even reach me in the place_ ' She mused, a small smile working it's way on her face.

"Miss" a quiet voice spoke up behind her, causing her to lift her head up and look over her shoulder, even though see couldn't see who it was. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku has tasked me with showing you the way to the mess hall" the male voice informed her. She stood up without a word and motioned for the other to lead the way, following once the other had began to walk.

She stayed silent the entire walk as she focused on memorizing the path that they were taking. She could feel many of the people on the ship moving towards one area and she figured that was the mess hall. The door was opened for her and she stepped inside, continuing to follow her guide as they made there way over to Sengoku's table. She sat down on the cushion beside of the old man and listened as she was introduced to the higher-ups of the ship.

The night went on without any difficulties and soon Toph was situated in the room that she would call her own for the next few months, left alone to relax and get some rest. She flopped down onto the bed, laying there for a few moments before slipping under the covers and letting her eyes close. She didn't even bother to change her clothing as she began to fall into a dreamless sleep, only to wake up early the next morning to someone knocking on the door and saying something about breakfast.

The months went by relatively quickly as Toph fell into a routine on the ship. Wake up, get a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, learn something called 'Braille', meditate at the railing, eat lunch, and anything after that would depend on what mood she was in.

She had been right in the middle of her meditation when she heard Sengoku calling out orders for docking. She stood up right before the sound of cheering reached her ears, making her furrow her brow in confusion ' _What the heck? Why are they cheering?_ '. Toph could feel Sengoku walk up behind her before he placed his hand on her shoulder, leading her over to the ramp and back onto stone.

' _Oh, spirits! It's been ages since I felt something other than wood!_ ' She almost flopped down to kiss the material, but the vibrations of someone walking over to them made her pause. "Hey! Sengoku!" A gruff sounding voice came from the figure "Is this the brat you've been talking about?". Sengoku nodded his head before looking down at the young girl "Toph, this is Vice Admiral Garp. He is going to be your training instructor".

Toph frowned at the idea of having an instructor, but thought about it for a second. She was in totally different world than what she was used to, so it couldn't hurt to learn about the place and how they fought. "Alright" She finally replied before listening to Sengoku give this new old guy instructions to take her to her new room once training was over. Garp led the young girl away from the docks, asking her several questions.

Sengoku allowed a small smile to grow on his face as he watched the two walk off towards the training grounds. ' _Welcome to Marineford, Toph_ ' he thought to himself.


End file.
